Loose spokes

Loose spokes wtf

This thread is a few years old now but the problem still persists.

I took my 2016 gs1200 (with less than 1900 miles from new) in for an mot and service to the local Motorad dealer and it failed on loose spokes on both wheels. No mention of how many spokes involved.

The service chap just called and said that the wheel spokes CANNOT be tightened or adjusted as they are not a serviceable item. So I need two new wheels. Cost...............£2050 to replace both wheels. WTF.

Surely this is not right!

Has anyone had this same issue with BMW and had to pay for new wheels?

According to the service chap this is not common (other than a bad run of 2018 model wheels). He can provide no reason for this happening other than they probably left the factory this way. The dealership is going to approach Motorad to see if they will provide the wheels free or cover some of the cost of replacement under good will.

The bike has never been off road and I know the mileage is genuine as I have had it from new.
 
They are talking utter bollocks, my 2018 model had loose spokes issues which was fixed in house by the dealerships mechanics during its 12 month service and have not been an issue since (as were many others without reverting to new wheels).

Either your dealers cannot be arsed to fix them and would rather try and screw you for new wheels or their mechanics (sorry technicians ) lack the relevant skill set to fix them ie they are useless.

If we are talking about Dalkeith then it was them who actually sorted my wheels , if you are in Edinburgh try Callum who used to work for Dalkeith and is more than capable of sorting out loose spokes www.centralcustoms.co.uk
 
Thanks for the reply Neil. It is the Edinburgh Motorad dealer that is involved.
I will see what they come back with, re good will, and try Callum for a fix if no joy from BMW. The wheels are running true with no symptoms showing of loose spokes, so fingers crossed they can be repaired.
 
I haven't read through the whole thread, but I'm at a loss trying to understand why a spoked wheel can't be fixed. One of the great advantages of spoked wheels is that they CAN be fixed - they shouldn't 'un fix' in the first place but hey ho.

I would bet that ANY weelbuilder could retension and true your wheels. Or am I missing something?...:confused:
 
I’m not certain but wasn’t there a criteria that said they could only repair a wheel with no more than 8 loose spikes. Any more than that and BMW mandated it be replaced.
 
spoonz said:
I’m not certain but wasn’t there a criteria that said they could only repair a wheel with no more than 8 loose spikes. Any more than that and BMW mandated it be replaced.
Click to expand...

This was exactly what happened to me - 13 loose on the front - wheel replaced... 7 on the rear - spokes tightened
 
jonnie comet said:
I haven't read through the whole thread, but I'm at a loss trying to understand why a spoked wheel can't be fixed. One of the great advantages of spoked wheels is that they CAN be fixed - they shouldn't 'un fix' in the first place but hey ho.

I would bet that ANY weelbuilder could retension and true your wheels. Or am I missing something?...:confused:
Click to expand...

Probably would need a specialist, i suspect it is all down to liability.
 
malcopopolo said:
Probably would need a specialist, i suspect it is all down to liability.
Click to expand...

I think you are correct on all accounts.

Truing this type of spoked wheels takes more skills than the 'old-fashioned' type.

Whatever a BMW shop does to your bike is BMW's responsibility. Doing a proper job truing any type of wheel takes lots of skill and practise. This type of wheels probably takes even longer. Using a third part shop would take the repair out of BMWs control, and it would be hard for them to vouch for the job.

Conducting the proper training will be way more costly than changing the wheels. After all, the number of wheels that have required a fix is at the best marginal, compared to all the wheels out there.

Now, if the bike is out of warranty, I would go to a specialist shop. The wheels have been trued once. No reason not to be able to do it again.
Whatever the personal opinion of the BMW shop manger may be, he is bound to state the official BMW policy, so keep them out of it.
 
It would be interesting to see what it costs to true the wheels.

Might be worth picking up a mint pair 2nd hand pair with known provenance

Wonder who has a something that fits the bill exactly that is perfect sitting on a garage shelf???
 
malcopopolo said:
It would be interesting to see what it costs to true the wheels.

Might be worth picking up a mint pair 2nd hand pair with known provenance

Wonder who has a something that fits the bill exactly that is perfect sitting on a garage shelf???
Click to expand...


I bought a good set of second hand wheels and sent them off to have rebuilt by https://www.drwheelbuilding.com/ they were powder coated and re-spoked and trued with stronger spokes of higher quality than BMW original.
original wheels have hung up in my garage since I put these rebuilt wheels on. Cost me less than a set of new wheels from BMW.
 
Good news

BMW have agreed to replace the wheels free of charge. I will have to pay for the tyres etc to be changed over by the dealer which is nothing compared to the cost of new wheels.

I did find a wheel builder in Fife who could tighten the spokes for me at about £100 per wheel. He was not completely confident that he could do so without warping the rim, but it would still be worth a try before forking out for new wheels from the dealer.

Cheers.
 
Good result. I know we like to moan about BMW but they do come up trumps on things like this. And yes I know the spokes shouldn't have come loose in the first place. So do BMW which is why they are replacing them.
 
Kato said:
Good news

BMW have agreed to replace the wheels free of charge. I will have to pay for the tyres etc to be changed over by the dealer which is nothing compared to the cost of new wheels.

I did find a wheel builder in Fife who could tighten the spokes for me at about £100 per wheel. He was not completely confident that he could do so without warping the rim, but it would still be worth a try before forking out for new wheels from the dealer.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

That is good news for you.

I've always found Motorrad Central to be excellent in terms of their service, they have sorted 2 issues on my bike with BMW HQ, both well out of warranty. Thats why I ride 70 miles each way to go there when there's a dealer 1 mile away from my home.
 
Hi all Newby to the forum here,

OK I purchased my 5th GSA in June 2018 and rode until we all got locked down in March 2020. From this point I didn't get the chance to use it gain until June 22 so basically off the road for just over 2 years.

It has now had its 24000 service at which point I was told "you need two new wheels @ £2500". They have also said that as I missed two services it's unlikely they will replace them even as a good will. But my point is this is irrelevant as its not been risen.

I didn't realise until doing some research and seeing the MCN article from jan 19 that my bike could have been part of the spoke nipple coating issue from feb-June 2018. I have never been told any of this!

My dealer has said I have 11 on the front and 9 on the rear and they won't adjust them (probably because they all know now how complicated it is).

I'm now waiting to speak to my dealer tomorrow and find out what they are going to do but in the meantime could anyone offer any guidance of how I could take this further if I get a negative response?

Regards Ian
 
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For those with a more minor issue with spoke tension than the dangerous multiple spoke problems appearing in this thread, I had a single spoke picked up at an MOT on my late '16 model recently. It wasn't a dull thud when tapped, rather it was a bit lower in tone than the others, but it still appeared as an 'advisory'. A 2mm Allen key to back off the grub screw, a few cautious '5 minutes' steps with the torx bit til the tap gave a ding in the same range as those around it, tighten the grub screw and the job was done. Probably 10 minutes as I was very slow and careful.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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